It was Celtic’s biggest ever win in Govan as Pedro Caixinha’s side were run ragged, and Provan reckons you need to go back to the 1993/94 campaign – when Fergus McCann rescued cash-strapped Celtic and they finished fourth in the top-flight – for a time when the chasm was so stark.

And the 60-year-old thinks Caixinha is on a hiding to nothing with the Gers, unless he is afforded the resources to buy an entirely new team by Dave King.

“I think the gap is now as big as it was prior to Celtic almost going bust in the early 90s,” Provan told Sky Sports News. “[Saturday] was the best Celtic performance against Rangers I have ever seen. They really did destroy Rangers.

“The only way Rangers can recover, or become competitive again, is by bringing in better players – but good players cost good money, and it remains to be seen whether Rangers have that money.

“Up to now, there is very little evidence that the single biggest shareholder, Dave King, and his board have the means to make Rangers competitive.

“I think they need to rely on Caixinha’s knowledge of the foreign market – he’s been around, he’s been in the Middle-East, Mexico, Portugal. Rangers need to hope he has the contacts to get the recruitment right.

“But we are not talking about one or two here, we are talking seven, eight, nine or ten players. That many. This is a desperately poor Rangers side. If they money isn’t there, Caixinha is wasting his time.”